Vast develops commercial space stations to support sustained human activity, research, and manufacturing in low-Earth orbit and beyond.
<div class="content-intro"><p>At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us.</p></div><p>Vast is looking for a <strong>Solar Array Engineer</strong>, reporting to the<strong> Principal Power Systems Engineer, </strong>to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. </p> <p>This will be a <strong>full-time</strong>, <strong>exempt</strong> position located in our <strong>Long Beach</strong> location. </p> <p><strong>Responsibilities: </strong></p> <ul> <li>Define requirements and trade architectures of solar arrays.</li> <li>Select and qualify materials and vendors for solar arrays.</li> <li>Develop and qualify processes for welding, adhesion, lamination of solar cells.</li> <li>Test and qualify designs to AIAA S112 standards. </li> <li>Interface with systems engineering, power electronics, structures, thermal, and mission assurance teams for end-to-end integration.</li> <li>Troubleshoot issues across the product lifecycle—from design through integration and testing.</li> <li>Participate in design reviews, drawing checks, and technical documentation for internal and NASA deliverables.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Minimum Qualifications:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, materials engineering, or related engineering discipline.</li> <li>Experience working with design, manufacture and verification of photovoltaics or similar composite structures.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Skills & Experience:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Experience in the space industry, including developing, building, and testing solar arrays.</li> <li>Experience with space solar design and guidelines such as AIAA S111, S112.</li> <li>Proactive problem-solving skills such as failure analysis and root cause investigation.</li> <li>Prior experience in a fast-paced manufacturing setting.</li> <li>Design work in recent versions of NX, Teamcenter.</li> <li>Analysis work in recent versions of Ansys, FeMap/Nastran, Abaqus, Thermal Desktop.</li> <li>Experience with GD&T implementation and analysis (ASME Y14.5).</li> <li>Familiarity with spacecraft specifications such as SMC-S-016, NASA-STD-5001, and NASA-STD-5019.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Additional Requirements:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Pay Range:</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Solar Array Engineer II: $110,000 - $140,000</li> <li>Senior Solar Array Engineer: $140,000 - $175,000</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay Range: California</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$110,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$175,000 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><p style="line-height: 1;"><strong>COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS<br></strong><br>Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, generous paid time off; up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days of vacation for non-exempt staff with the ability to cash-out unused vacation annually, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks. We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.</p> <p style="line-height: 1;"><strong><br>U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS<br><br></strong>The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/section-120.62">22 C.F.R. § 120.62</a> or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.<br><br></p> <p style="line-height: 1;"><strong>EQUAL OPPORTUNITY</strong><br><br>Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.</p></div>